This post provides a summary of the upcoming changes including those features which we have highlighted due to their impact. This release is subject to change and we will do our best to keep the information up to date before the release to live on the evening of Thursday the 8th of January 2026. For more in depth technical detail additional details are available on the release page.

Improvements to the user interface in Courses and Left-Hand Menu

There will be a refreshed user interface designed to improve efficiency of both learning and teaching within Learn. These updates aim to help users find information faster, reduce clicks, and simplify tasks such as managing courses, grading, and configuring settings.

The changes aim to assist users in these areas:

• Use screen space more effectively
• Reduce navigation errors, such as accidental exits
• Improve performance and page load times
• Provide clearer context and orientation
• Minimise motion for smoother navigation

Changes include the following:

Refreshed Left-Hand Menu Navigation

Cleaner layout for clear access to main navigation tabs with less clutter.

• User profile now appears at the top of the navigation, complete with profile image for easier customisation.
• Admin and Sign Out options are moved to the bottom of the panel, separating them from other actions for clarity.
• Administrators can now access base navigation directly from the administrator panel, streamlining workflow transitions.

Image 1: The refreshed Left-Hand Menu Navigation menu moves Profile to the top of the menu. Admin and Sign Out are moved to the bottom of the panel. The cleaner layout improves clarity for users.

Course Panels Become Full-Screen Course Pages

Courses now open in full-screen mode to maximise horizontal space and reduce clutter. This update applies to top-level panels such as Course Content Homepage, Calendar, Announcements, Discussions, Gradebook, Analytics, and Groups.

Image 2: The refreshed user interface in courses includes full-screen course pages and improvements to enhance the amount of screen space for users to engage with their course.

Home button replaces Exit

The “X” to exit a course is replaced with a Home button that returns a user to the landing page (Courses area). The “X” remains for lower-level panels like learning modules for now.

Course ID and title in the header bar

The header now displays the course ID and title for better context. It has been noted that breadcrumbs will be added in a future update to help improve navigation further.

Full-width banner

The course banner spans the full width of the screen with the course ID and title on a darker background for better clarity and accessibility.

If a course doesn’t have a selected banner, this image will adopt a hue of the brand colour, this will ensure visual consistency across all courses. 

Image 3: The Course menu has been moved further to the top of the screen to make better use of screen space for users. 

Course Switcher

Users can quickly jump between their four most recent courses or go to the full Courses page.

Image 4: The new course switcher lets users move between the four most recent courses.  

For further information about these changes, please visit our Learn UI Updates Page.

Usability improvements for Document Block Layout

To improve usability and accessibility, the menu for document block layout has been restructured. Previously, all options for changing the row, size, or position of a block were in a single dropdown list. Now, these options are organised by type of change (row, size, and position).

Selecting the edit icon for a block prompts a menu with three options: Change row, Change [block/column] size, and Change [block/column] position. Each of these options have a sub-menu, with the related actions.

• Change row
  • Move to row above
  • Move to row below
  • New row above
• Change [block/column] size
  • Expand to the left
  • Expand to the right
  • Shrink from the left
  • Shrink from the right
• Change [block/column] position
  • Move to the left
  • Move to the right

Image 1: How document block styling options displayed before

Image 2: How document block styling options display now

January 2026 Release Overview / Learn by blogadmin is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution CC BY 3.0

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